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Thomas Haidarnia
| cityofbirth = Los Angeles, California | countryofbirth = United States | dateofdeath = | cityofdeath = | countryofdeath = | height = | position = Midfielder / Winger | currentclub = Independence | clubnumber = 19 | youthyears = 2014-2015 | youthclubs = Young Eagles | years = 2015-2017 2016- | clubs = Young Eagles Independence | caps(goals) = | nationalyears = 2018- | nationalteam = St. Gregory | nationalcaps(goals) = | manageryears = | managerclubs = }}Touraj Ali "Thomas" Haidarnia (born October 16, 1997) is an American-born Gregorian professional footballer who plays as a wide midfielder and winger. He currently plays in League A for Independence, having graduated from their Young Eagles academy. Haidarnia was born in Los Angeles to an Iranian American father and a French Canadian mother. He lived in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles until the age of 9, when his parents divorced. He lived with his mother for a time in Drummondville, Quebec, where he learned to play soccer. He adopted the name "Thomas" during middle school when a teacher was unable to correctly pronounce his birth name, Touraj. Playing career At age 14, Haidarnia returned to Los Angeles in the hope of furthering his soccer career. He moved back in with his father in Reseda and enrolled at Cleveland High School, where he played two years for the Cavaliers soccer team. During his sophomore season, he was scouted by Independence F.C., a professional team in the United States territory of St. Gregory. With the blessing of his father, Haidarnia signed a development contract with Independence and joined their youth and reserve team, Young Eagles. Haidarnia was called up to the Independence first team for their home match against Winston Beach on February 27, 2016. He made his debut for the team when he came on late in the second half, replacing Ajay D'Angelo. International career Through the various nationalities of he and his family members, Haidarnia was eligible to represent the United States, Canada or Iran at international level. In 2018, he satisfied the three-year requirement to become a resident of St. Gregory, thus also making him eligible for their national team. He was called up by St. Gregory manager Matthew Frame as part of the preliminary 27-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as two pre-tournament friendlies against Belize and Kazakhstan (which alone will not cap-tie him to St. Gregory, making him still eligible to represent the other nations). On June 3, 2018, Haidarnia was announced as one of the 23 players selected for St. Gregory's World Cup squad. He was the second-youngest player to be named in the squad at 20 years of age (only Fabien Lamy, at 19, is younger). He made his first and only appearance at the tournament in their third and final group game against Tunisia, which ended 1-1 to give St. Gregory their first-ever World Cup point. This game cap-tied Haidarnia to St. Gregory. Personal life Haidarnia speaks English, French and Arabic. Category:Player pages Category:Young Eagles F.C. players Category:Independence F.C. players Category:People from the United States